With the Hero Indian Super League’s grassroots initiative picking up pace, NorthEast United FC conducted a grassroots festival on February 14-15. The festival was held at the Indira Gandhi Athletic Stadium in Guwahati with 460 children in participation over the weekend. ISL Grassroots Technical Director, Piet Hubers, oversaw the proceedings held at the stadium’s practice ground. The festival began at 9am on both days, running until 4pm.The training sessions were conducted on three small pitches, marked on the practice pitch. An individual training coach was assigned for each pitch, with each coach training 16 children. The head scouting coach identified children during the session, with Hubers sharing his feedback at regular intervals with the children, coaches, and club representatives.The ISL’s grassroots initiative will extend its reach to about a million young footballers all over the country in the first few years. Creating an infrastructure through which budding Indian footballers can pursue a career in the beautiful game has been intrinsic to the ISL’s objective of unearthing and training the stars of the future. The off-season will provide the perfect opportunity for the league and the clubs to focus heavily on promoting football across the country.With an emphasis on developing players’ skills and techniques from a young age, the league’s outreach programmes will also provide a base for talent-scouting for the ISL clubs. The eight franchises will hope to strengthen their clubs with an influx of the best local talent in the coming years.Click here to view photos.
